AZUSA – Officials are working to attract a prominent chain hotel to the city despite recent reports of other hotel failures locally.

Azusa councilmembers on Monday unanimously approved an exclusive negotiation deal with Kal Pacific and Associates for the development of a hotel at 229 S. Azusa Ave., near the 210 Freeway.

The 2.5-acre property is the former site of an Enterprise Rental Car facility and a car dealership, but has been vacant since August 2009, according to city documents.

Azusa has been hoping to attract a hotel for several years after a study showed substantial interest and value in a hotel.

“We lose a lot of families who come to Azusa Pacific University’s graduation and they have nowhere in Azusa to stay with a conference room and a restaurant,” Mayor Joe Rocha said.

Azusa was interested in having Kal Pacific develop the project because the firm can bring Courtyard by Marriot, Hampton Inn, Hilton Garden Inn or Holiday Inn Express, which are the only hotels Azusa is interested in according to city staff reports.

The deal requires Kal Pacific to produce a study exploring the feasibility of bringing a hotel to the site. Based on the results, due within 90 days, Kal Pacific or Azusa could back out of the deal.

City Manager Fran Delach said the study is being conducted because the initial study that showed the city would benefit from a hotel was done prior to the economic collapse, and officials want to make sure the same market interest exists.

Other cities have had significant problems with developing hotels. Rosemead has been trying to revitalize the Glendon Hotel for years. In 2008, the city leased the hotel to a new management group, but the group was unable to pay its lease because the hotel never made a profit. The city is now selling the property to a new hotel developer.

In Montebello, the city owes more than $4.5 million in fees to a management company for its Hilton Garden Inn; some say the hotel has never been profitable for the city.

Delach and Rocha both said Azusa will have a profitable hotel.

The key, they said, is Azusa Pacific University.

“We have been cognizant of (other cities’ problems),” Delach said. “What we have going for us is what Claremont has. We have a university in town with a consistent user base.”

Delach said APU has a “year-round draw” with graduations, scouting trips, national sporting events, music venues and international conferences to support a hotel.

The potential for a National Football League stadium in Industry could be an additional boon to the hotel business, Delach said.

Rocha said Azusa also needs a large conference space.

“We have a lot of nonprofit and civic organizations and when they want a meeting, we don’t really have a large conference room anywhere in town,” he said.

The hotel could have an estimated 100 to 200 rooms, according to city documents. If the developer can negotiate a deal to purchase a nearby gas station, a restaurant could be included in the development, Delach said.

Kal Pacific has 240 days to finalize a deal with a hotel, under the agreement with Azusa.

Delach said the cost of developing the hotel is still unknown, as are the parameters of a development agreement between Kal Pacific and the city.

At the same time, Delach said he anticipates the city’s involvement would not extend beyond selling the property to the developer, and collecting property and transient occupancy taxes.

Rocha said he would be cautious of offering additional incentives to any builder.

“I am going to be really careful with what the city promises,” he said. “I await anxiously to see what (Kal Pacific) comes forward with.”

Daniel Tedford is the Assistant Managing Editor of Digital News. He graduated from Cal Poly Pomona and has been working in journalism since 2008. During that time, he has sat next to a Pulitzer Prize winner, been interviewed by Robert Siegel about a faux Temple City army with a 'supreme commander' and accidentally interviewed a Hollywood movie director about Little League baseball. When not working, he's an avid Los Angeles Angels fan, cooks a mean roast chicken and has read every Kurt Vonnegut novel. He also fancies himself an expert in the best sandwiches in the San Gabriel Valley, if anyone ever cares to ask.